Ain't You Got a Right to the Tree of Life

©1965 Guy Carawan, ©1985 Stormking Music, Inc

        From the Gullah culture of South Carolina. Guy and Candie Carawan collected this when they lived on Johns Island SC in the 1960s and published it in a book of the same name. The version I learned was somewhat different, though probably from the same source. (GB)

Tell My Mother (Ain't You Got a Right)
Tell My Father (Ain't You Got a Right)
All My Children (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right to the Tree of Life

All my Brothers (Ain't You Got a Right)
Tell My Sisters (Ain't You Got a Right)
Tell everybody (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right

Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
To The Tree Of Life

Gonna tell all my brothers (Ain't You Got a Right)
Gonna tell all my sisters (Ain't You Got a Right)
Gonna tell all the world (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
To the Tree of life

Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right to the Tree of Life

My Life Will Be Sweeter (Ain't You Got a Right)
So Sweet Some Day (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
To The Tree Of Life

Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
Yes, we all got a right (Ain't You Got a Right)
You can tell of the children (Ain't You Got a Right)
To the tree of life

We come from a distance (Ain't You Got a Right)
Yes, We all got a right (Ain't You Got a Right)
Ain't You Got a Right (Ain't You Got a Right)
To The tree of life

Ain't You Got a Right to the Tree of Life is recorded the CD Gordon Bok and Bob Zentz - Together Again for the First Time.